Q: What do you have to do to be considered the best?

A: Simply put, you've got to beat the best.

Q: How many times to do you have to do that?

A: Again, simply put, as many times as possible.

And if we apply that same thinking to Bill Belichick, he has got to be getting close to being considered the greatest coach of all time—if he's not there already.

He is the only coach to win three out of four Super Bowls, and if the Patriots were to chalk up another ring under Bill—he would have to be considered the greatest coach of all time.

He and Brady have already become the most successful quarterback-coach combination in the history of the National Football League—accounting for 124 wins. Not only that, they've achieved this monumental feat in almost two years less than the time it took Shula and Marino to reach 116 wins.

And at the end of the day, coaches are bound by the limits of their players.

No matter how good of a coach you might actually be, without the personnel to get the job done—it's not going to reflect well on you. Potential only matters when it's met with winning records.

That is partly why Belichick is so successful. Without Tom Brady, we will never know just how successful he may have been as a coach. We may never know whether he would have achieved the same results or not.

Just as Brady is bound by the skill of his receivers, the strength of his lineman and his throwing abilities—Belichick is bound by Brady and the other 50-odd players that take the field for him every week.

If they don't deliver the results, he doesn't get the results. He doesn't get any accolades that he may rightly deserve.

At the end of the day, it's a little tough to argue with another Super Bowl championship for Bill. I know it's difficult to measure coaching skill because it does all depend on the personnel you have, as well as the competition around. But it is tough to argue against the Patriots coach and the success he has achieved for New England.

He must be considered the greatest coach of all time if he gets the job done in Super Bowl XLVI because at the end of the day, that's what you're going to get measured on.

It's not bias, it's not jumping on the bandwagon—it's just the notion that must apply if Bill is able to power his way to another World Championship.

The same thinking that people used to argue for Tom Brady over Drew Brees—that is, Super Bowl rings. It must also apply to the men that call the shots to get those rings.

Coaches are expected to get the job done. Belichick will do exactly that and establish his name atop the coaching history books forever with a win in Super Bowl XLVI.

 

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